UTA Knocks Off Women's Tennis, 5-2

Apr 01, 2012

CORPUS CHRISTI – UT Arlington used the momentum from a key doubles point to catapult past the Texas A&M – Corpus Christi women's tennis team, 5-2, on Sunday at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center in front of a crowd of 123. The Islanders, playing without Saturday's heroine Mia Matuszak due to injury, fell to 11-3 on the season and 4-2 in conference action with the loss, while UTA is now 10-7 overall and 6-2 in the Southland.

"We competed extremely hard today from start to finish, but give UTA credit – they rose up and won a very tough match," Director of Tennis Steve Moore said. "I think we learned some valuable things today that will help us at the end of the year when it matters most. I think we did a good job at a lot of the things we can control, but we still have room to improve in some key areas. Overall, though, I'm very proud of the character and grit the team showed this weekend."

The Mavs got out to a 1-0 lead by taking the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3. Verena Scott/Christine Foote jumped out to a sizable lead on LeAnne Mascall/Stefania Nicolae, then held off a late rally for an 8-4 win. At No. 1, Mirna Cicak/Doris Kuselj and Nikola Matovicova/Maria Martinez-Romero were locked in a tight battle with the Islanders leading 5-4, but the duo from UTA won four straight games for an 8-5 win. At No. 2, Chelsea Horan/Sandra Burges and Giada D'Ortona/Natalia Mayuk went to tiebreak, and the duo of Horan and Burgues prevailed in a marathon, 8-7 (15-13).

From there, the Mavericks rode the momentum to victories at No. 6, No. 2 and No. 1 singles to clinch the match. Foote defeated Mascall, 6-2, 6-0, at the sixth slot to start things, then Kuselj fell to Scott 0-6, 6-2, 6-0, to put the match on the verge of victory for UTA. Finally, Martinez-Romero iced the victory with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Cicak to put the visitors ahead for good, 4-0.

The remainder of the matches played out, and the Islanders gained a win at No. 3, as Burges knocked off Mayuk with a three-set victory (6-0, 3-6, 6-3). Horan was the next in the books, as her match went to the super-tiebreaker in the third set, and the freshman emerged with the win (4-6, 7-5, 10-7) over Matovicova. In the final match to finish, Nicolae and D'Ortona also went to super-tiebreak, with D'Ortona winning 6-7, 7-5, 10-6.

The Islanders return to action on Thursday, April 5, when they travel to league-leading Stephen F. Austin for a match that is slated for a 1 p.m. start. On Saturday, April 7, the Islanders take on Sam Houston State in Huntsville, at 2 p.m. The men's team is back on the court on Tuesday, April 3, when it heads to Texas-Pan American for a crucial conference match. For the latest updates on Islanders Tennis, be sure to follow the team's official Twitter account (@IslandersTennis).